The Knight and the Rook
by Shikijika
Summary: 250 one sentence prompts from the LJ community 1sentence. IchigoxHitsugaya, rating ranges but is generally worksafe with nothing explicit. Finally done!
1. Gamma

**Notes: **I FINISHED OMG WTF. xD Contains some AU-ish and future!universe sentences. And other weird stuff. It's crack, what can I say.

**01 - Ring**

Hitsugaya didn't understand the point in having wedding rings -- no matter how many times an exasperated Ichigo explained it, it still seemed a waste of money to buy pieces of metal that just get lost all the time.

**02 - Hero**

Hitsugaya had a dislike for people who actively 'played the hero', but sometimes he thought of Ichigo and wondered if his dislike was justified or not.

**03 - Memory**

Memories of the orange-haired ryoka still haunted him all the time -- even during paperwork, he'd remember trivial conversations and... not-so-trivial events that still made his skin tingle.

**04 - Box**

"Your moving plushie was annoying me," Hitsugaya explained, kicking the wiggling, cursing box he was sitting on; Ichigo blinked at him and decided he was going to ignore the fact that he had no idea how Hitsugaya got in his room in the first place for just now -- he had a lot of explaining to do.

**05 - Run**

After the first five days of being in close proximity of Hitsugaya, Ichigo learnt that whenever the temperature suddenly dropped it was time to make an excuse and _run_.

**06 - Hurricane**

Hitsugaya came at him again, sword unsheathed and a calm, almost bored expression on his face -- but as Ichigo leapt out of the way, he could see the dark hurricane of reiatsu surrounding the captain increase in density and the spiralling tendrils snapping furiously into nothing.

**07 - Wings**

After watching the flight safety video, Hitsugaya furiously insisted to Ichigo (who wasn't convinced in the slightest) that he wasn't scared -- why would he be, with his bankai having wings -- but he kept a watch on the window the whole way throughout the flight, just in case a wing fell off, or something.

**08 - Cold**

A cold stream ran down Ichigo's back, and he spun around ready to hit the offender in the face -- but seeing Hitsugaya sitting on the roof, another snowball in hand and an almost devious expression on his face made him think again (small children with snowballs were things to avoid.)

**09 - Red**

They fight back-to-back, too absorbed in their opponent to see each other -- but then it's over and they turn, seeing the red streaks of blood reflected in their eyes and swords.

**10 - Drink**

The first time Ichigo had seen Hitsugaya (which was a rare occurence anyway; he usually could tell when his drink had been spiked _before _he came out of the bathroom), his ribs were beginning to ache from holding in laughter -- the usually-composed captain was hiccuping loudly and trying to see how many pretzels he could fit into his mouth in one go; it added up to about twenty-seven before he began choking on them.

**11 - Midnight**

The dull light of midnight's moon traced the two entwined figures, the smaller's head buried underneath the other's chin as they slept soundly -- they were going to end up regretting this position in the morning but it didn't matter right now.

**12 - Temptation**

Hitsugaya had no idea where his newly-discovered sex drive had come from, but that desk -- three seats in front and one to the right -- was looking particuarly promising right now...

**13 - View**

Ichigo tapped his pen irritably against the desk, arguing with himself over whether to tell Hitsugaya to pull his trousers up or to just enjoy the _very _nice view he was getting.

**14 - Music**

Hitsugaya was completely baffled to the point of not knowing how to respond when Ichigo started twitching and shouting at him -- he was only listening to an English song on... something (admittedly it was actually Matsumoto, but she'd gone out and he couldn't work out how to switch it off) and what the hell did 'my humps' mean to Ichigo anyway?

**15 - Silk**

Hitsugaya had complained that silk was for wimps, but after being reduced to a writhing, panting wreck -- hell, he was practically _whimpering --_ by the material (guided by Ichigo's hand) sliding over places where it definately didn't need to go, he had to change his opinion on that particular subject.

**16 - Cover**

His sight was suddenly covered over by a dark wool scarf, tied firmly around his head -- before he had time to rip it off (and hit Ichigo for trying to make him agree to be bottom), warm hands caught his own as rough kisses trailed slowly down his neck.

**17 - Promise**

"Just... promise to stop breaking my window every time you want to come in, Toshiro, and I'll stop... yeah, _that_."

**18 - Dream**

Hitsugaya, compared to most (living) people, had strange dreams -- he dreamed about swords, ice and blood; but sometimes he dreamt about orange hair and dark eyes, only to end up awake in the middle of the night bathed in sweat and with a suspicious wet stain on the bedsheets.

**19 - Candle**

"Actually, your hair _is _on fire," Hitsugaya pointed out, amused; Ichigo's reaction was to knock over the offending candle and flap his hands erratically around the smouldering piece of hair.

**20 - Talent**

Hitsugaya's many (improvised and much-regretted afterwards) acting talents were kind of creepy, in Ichigo's opinion -- did _all _shinigami have to act like sweet, innocent little kids when they attended real-world schools or was there something he was missing?

**21 - Silence**

"Come _on_, I didn't mean to, geez," Ichigo grumbled; Hitsugaya just snorted and turned away, continuing the silent treatment as he fingered the reddening bite marks on his neck -- he wished it wasn't August; he'd be able to hide it with a scarf in winter, at least.

**22 - Journey**

The road to being able to glare at Ichigo's face and not his torso when he was irritated seemed a long way away to Hitsugaya.

**23 - Fire**

"... Hadō sixty-three, raikōhō," Hitsugaya twitched his fingers and the gigantic rush of shimmering gold-white fire flew towards Ichigo, who easily vaulted over it; Hitsugaya just raised his eyebrows and moved his hands again, muttering the next demon arts' incantation under his breath.

**24 - Strength **

Ichigo suddenly realised that this was the first time Hitsugaya had towered over him, and certainly the first time ice had pinned him to the hard ground of Urahara's training area -- why was it that small people were always ridiculously strong in spite of their midget-y-cuteness -- no wait wait rewind thought process ten seconds back and forget you thought that, yes.

**25 - Mask**

"I can't _see_ out of these eyeholes..." Hitsugaya pointed out, pulling the mask up onto the top of his head and glaring up at Ichigo, going on to complain that he had no idea why he needed one and he didn't need any more candy, dammit (Ichigo himself wasnt' sure how the hell he'd been dragged into explaining Halloween to Hitsugaya in the first place).

**26 - Ice**

"It's not melted yet, stop moving," Hitsugaya growled, jabbing Ichigo's bare chest with the half-melted icecube in his fingers, a cool trail of water sliding over his nipple (shit that was -- if Hitsugaya dared do that again Ichigo was definately going to jump on him.)

**27 - Fall**

Too absorbed in his own fight, Ichigo hadn't noticed Hitsugaya fall from the sky -- but when the icy air fluttered around him and a familiar dragon's tail almost slapped him in the face, a knot in his stomach he hadn't known was there tightened painfully.

**28 - Forgotten**

Despite only coming up to Ichigo's chest (which was solid and painful when he accidentally ran into it), Hitsugaya was determined to not be forgotten -- this wasn't at all a bad thing, Ichigo noted, twining his fingers into clumps of white hair as he hissed and shuddered in pleasure.

**29 - Dance**

"You just want to make life harder for yourself, don't you..." Ichigo grumbled; Hitsugaya just glared at him and gripped his hands tightly, half-dragging him around the circle of the other, evenly-matched couples.

**30 - Body**

Hitsugaya bit his lip fiercely and curled his hands around the bedsheets, the calloused touch of Ichigo's fingers running up and down the length of his body and his breath brushing over his shoulders making him shiver, his own breath hitching and teeth pressing grooves into his bottom lip.

**31 - Sacred**

"Geez, you can't be that dedicated to your paperwork... c'mon, get ou--" the door slammed in Ichigo's face, and he realised that yes, Toshiro really did find his paperwork that important.

**32 - Farewells**

Ichigo watched them go, hands in his pockets and eyes seeming distracted -- but he watched until the last view of the diminutive captain disappeared; he was such a fucking wimp, not being able to say goodbye properly.

**33 - World**

Sometimes, Hitsugaya wondered if Ichigo even knew that the world more or less rested on his shoulders -- but then, he decided that for the moment those shoulders were much better with the dark marks that he knew _he _had made on them.

**34 - Formal**

"Shinigami robes are not actually regarded as formal wear, Kurosaki... no, I really doubt anything in my closet would fit you either."

**35 - Fever**

"You're doing a great job of not being sick, Toshiro," Ichigo said sarcastically, rolling his eyes; Hitsugaya just grunted and rolled over, mumbling something about the gigai and how he was going to _kill _the twelfth division when he got back.

**36 - Laugh**

It was often hard to tell if Hitsugaya even knew how to laugh, when the only expressions Ichigo ever saw were anger, frustration, boredom or smugness (well, he could think of another, but that wasn't one he expressed in public.)

**37 - Lies**

"I know you're lying," Hitsugaya remarked, arching an eyebrow, "so just tell me -- it better be nothing to do with me in skirts or long socks, by the way, or I _will _kill you."

**38 - Forever**

Matsumoto bit her lip fiercely to keep herself from giggling hysterically and giving the game away -- her captain's _face _as he dragged a furious Ichigo into the closet was one she would remember for the rest of her afterlife.

**39 - Overwhelmed**

When Hitsugaya was up to the tip of his spiky head with paperwork, an amused (and insomniac) Ichigo would sit on one of the several couches in the tenth division office -- deliberately avoiding a drunk, sleeping Matsumoto -- and work his way through it; the only response to Hitsugaya's protests was 'I have a vice-captain who actually _does _paperwork...'

**40 - Whisper**

Comforting whispers didn't do anything for either of them -- instead they substituted with rough kisses and merciless teasing until both had completely forgotten what had started them off in the first place.

**41 - Wait**

Hitsugaya discarded any ideas of just holding back and waiting until he was _sure _and leaned forward, pressing his lips tentaively, lightly against Ichigo's.

**42 - Talk**

Ichigo didn't like talking about things that only concerned him to anybody else -- but Hitsugaya would listen without saying a word, his eyes watching him calmly as Ichigo spoke; this reassured him, for some reason.

**43 - Search**

When his clothes went missing, Ichigo didn't bother looking for them anymore -- he knew exactly who had them, and when Hitsugaya turned up with sleeves reaching his elbows and hem long past his ass he was proved right.

**44 - Hope**

"... Actually, Kurosaki, I was just hoping you'd let go of my torso; you're cutting off my circulation."

**45 - Eclipse**

Ichigo blinked at Hitsugaya in blank confusion; the stubborn expression still crinkled the little captain's features, but his eyes were staring up at the eclipse with an almost childlike look of wonder -- he hadn't even known Toshiro could have that expression.

**46 - Gravity**

With wings taller than him, Ichigo supposed it didn't count as defying gravity when Hitsugaya's bankai was involved.

**47 - Highway**

Hitsugaya eventually fell asleep, his head lying on Ichigo's lap -- Ichigo twitched, flushing red and immediately decided that he'd stare right out at the highway for the rest of the journey; eh, at least Hitsugaya wasn't complaining about the driving or that it was too hot for once.

**48 - Unknown**

Hitsugaya had no idea why he'd introduced Kurosaki to Hinamori, but he was very much regretting it now -- his name was not Shiro-chan dammit, and he didn't need two people annoying him with it.

**49 - Lock**

Eventually, Hitsugaya became learned enough with the inner workings of locks to be able to open Ichigo's bedroom window easily, but the memories of having to buy new glass every week still made Ichigo sob inwardly.

**50 - Breathe**

When Hitsugaya couldn't sleep, he would press his ear against Ichigo's chest and count how many breaths he took in a minute -- he was't sure why the hell he did it, but he never seemed to get past fifteen without falling asleep.


	2. Epsilon

Installment two, based on the Epsilon set. n.n I think I'll do Delta next...

---

**01 - Motion**

There's little motion from Toshiro's body, but watching his lithe form, head and hands pressed against the wall and breaths coming in short bursts, Ichigo feels as if that is all the movement he needs.

**02 - Cool**

As Soul Society's weather cools and slowly readies itself for winter, Toshiro is (literally) in his element -- Ichigo watches him pass by his office window most days now, and eventually decides to join him out in the biting wind and half-melted snow.

**03 - Young**

Ichigo's eyebrows raised as he took in the very different Toshiro standing in front of him, and noted appreciatively that the little grumpy snowball had long since matured in years past.

**04 - Last**

Hitsugaya has never seen coming last as a suitable option for him, and therefore intends to make sure he's first -- although admittedly irritating Kurosaki into submission wasn't exactly the best route he could've taken.

**05 - Wrong**

Hitsugaya groaned softly and pressed his face harder into Kurosaki's hair, feeling his hips rise and fall in rhythm and allowing his own to do the same; he wondered if this was really something wrong, because it sure as hell didn't feel like it.

**06 - Gentle**

Light, barely-there kisses trailed down Ichigo's neck and onto the joint connecting there and his shoulder, Toshiro's face pressed into heated skin -- "You smell... nice."

**07 - One**

The secret did eventually come out, but really, once people began noticing that Captain Hitsugaya usually ended up coming into the training rooms with one sock larger than the other it was all getting a bit obvious anyway.

**08 - Thousand**

There's thousands of ways to say 'I love you', Ichigo thinks irritably, so why isn't there one that doesn't sound completely stupid to say to a not-quite-so-little-anymore captain of the Gotei-13?

**09 - King**

Hitsugaya notices that Kurosaki grits his teeth whenever the word 'king' passes in a conversation; he doesn't know why, but he feels as if it's best not to ask.

**10 - Learn**

"No, you idiot, you don't do it like that," came the amused grumble from behind him, and warm hands covered his own, neatly guiding his fingers across the controls of the plastic controller-thing -- despite being called an idiot, Hitsugaya couldn't quite bring himself to retaliate (it had nothing to do with Kurosaki's hands feeling nice; nothing whatsoever, no).

**11 - Blur**

A white-and-black blur flickered past his vision, and Ichigo scowled, turning around sharply and yelling "Good _morning, _Toshiro!" -- the blur doubled back and glared at him -- "It's Captain Hitsugaya to you..."

**12 - Wait**

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the impatient Toshiro, practically bouncing as he waited in the long queue in the coffee shop -- having to hang around a caffeine-addicted midget shinigami captain wasn't exactly something he usually imagined himself doing...

**13 - Change**

He asks about the fading black colour on the ends of Kurosaki's hair, and he scowls, muttering something about Hallowe'en and being forced to and faulty hair dye (whatever that is) -- ah, some things never change.

**14 - Command**

"I _told _you not to touch him after eating fruit," Hitsugaya snorted, raising an amused eyebrow at Kurosaki's bandaged hand and the frosty glares directed to the kitten sleeping on the couch "but does anybody ever listen to my orders?"

**15 - Hold**

Ichigo sighed lightly and allowed his head to drop forward, chin now propped on Toshiro's head and arms curled around his waist; it was the closest they'd ever really gotten to a hug and he was willing to spend as much time on it as possible.

**16 - Need**

"You don't need to glare at everybody who comes near me, you know," Hitsugaya remarked; Ichigo just snorted and looked away, wondering if he could pretend he hadn't heard him so he could keep doing it (it was amusing, watching the expressions on people's faces change).

**17 - Vision**

It was all lies, he'd known that since he'd been dragged along to the Rukongai fair with Hinamori all those years ago -- so why did his hope keep rising every time one of those supposed 'palm-readers' saw something, anything even remotely related to Kurosaki on his hands?

**18 - Attention**

"Kurosaki..." his voice is hard, almost angry; "How else exactly was I supposed to bring it to your attention without looking like a complete moron -- a _letter_?"

**19 - Soul**

"Aren't you ever worried that you're going to kill the plus _again _with your zanpakutuo that size?" Toshiro asked, running a rough finger down the edge of Zangetsu's curved, sharp blade.

**20 - Picture**

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at all of the blurry pictures of his bedroom carpet saved on his digital camera -- he had told Toshiro to stop pressing the button, but the little captain had been far too interested in trying to take the camera apart than care about whatever it was actually made to do.

**21 - Fool**

Kurosaki was an idiot, Hitsugaya furiously insisted to himself, he didn't like him like _that, _not at all -- but he knew that the majority of his brain disagreed and continued supplying those... daydreams (he felt a little less dirty, putting it that way).

**22 - Mad**

Ichigo sometimes wonders if Toshiro is completely right in the head -- he might seem all right at first impressions, but after being forcibly dragged outside in a thunderstorm so he could find out what a kiss in the rain would feel like Ichigo isn't so sure anymore (although it _was _pretty hot).

**23 - Child**

"I'm confident in my inability to have children," Hitsugaya remarked skeptically, frowning at the condom packet held between his fingers and looking up at an extremely embarrassed Kurosaki, continuing "so I'm afraid you are going to have to fully explain why you'd need to wear this, if there's another reason other than preventing childbirth."

**24 - Now**

"Yes, _now_," hissed Toshiro into Ichigo's ear, nipping and licking the lobe as one hand's fingers fumbled with the knot of Ichigo's sash, the other holding him tight against the wall.

**25 - Shadow**

They weren't walking particularly close to each other, but Hitsugaya stared at their shadows, walking smoothly along with each other, fitting together almost perfectly, and he had to step away from Kurosaki -- it made his stomach flicker in a weird way.

**26 - Goodbye**

It was supposed to be easy to just leave somebody you had no feelings -- either platonic or romantic -- for without saying goodbye, but why did Hitsugaya still have that heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach?

**27 - Hide**

"He better be planning on going into hiding," Hitsugaya spluttered after a while, staring blankly at the kitten mewling on his desk, batting playfully at the paperwork and making the little note tied around its collar move -- 'look, it's somebody your own size!; happy birthday, Toshiro!'.

**28 - Fortune**

"Feel fortunate," muttered Toshiro, watching with a slightly-amused expression as both Ichigos snored obliviously on the couch, smaller curled-up on larger's chest "that he hasn't found your face more interesting to have nightmares on."

**29 - Safe**

"Your secret's safe with me, Hitsugaya-kun" Hinamori smiles, resisting the urge to pat him on the head like she'd used to do when he was younger -- his flushed face at her discovering him and Kurosaki-kun sleeping in the same bed reminded her a lot of Rukongai (minus the orange-haired human boy, anyway -- more like the time when she'd caught him playing with kittens).

**30 - Ghost**

Cool hands ghosted slowly over his skin, and Hitsugaya fought the urge to hiss as Kurosaki's fingers finally slid lightly, teasingly over his erection -- oh fuck, why did it have to feel like that?

**31 - Book**

"I'm happy to see you too, Kurosaki, but that was no reason to hit me with a book," Toshiro grumbled, rubbing the side of his head; Ichigo snorted and replied "Despite the fact that you jumped straight through my window and knocked my fucking desk over, I'm obviously not entitled to retaliate or anything..."

**32 - Eye**

Staring into someone's eyes was all very well and good -- but being squashed uncomfortably into a storage cupboard with barely any room to breathe made it lose its romance, they both agreed.

**33 - Never**

"Feeling the cold, Captain, or are you trying to hide something?" Matsumoto commented innocently (with a very amused expression); Hitsugaya coughed and adjusted the scarf around his neck, silently promising himself, not for the first time, that he would never let Kurosaki near his neck ever again.

**34 - Sing**

Kurosaki hummed in his sleep -- it was rather flat and tuneless, but Hitsugaya found the sound to be sort of... calming, after a while.

**35 - Sudden**

The light bites to his shoulders suddenly ceased, and Hitsugaya frowned and opened his eyes to see what was wrong -- "Are those _my _boxers you're wearing?"

**36 - Stop**

"I don't intend to stop, stupid," Ichigo mumbles, hands keeping a firm grip on Toshiro's hips as they buck insistently onto him, digging his fingers deeper into the carpet.

**37 - Time**

Their eyes lock -- blue and brown, wide as they seem to realise exactly what they're doing -- and time sputters and stops; Hitsugaya hisses and allows his head to fall back, breaking eye contact and releasing time again as he feels himself sliding off and over the edge.

**38 - Wash**

Ichigo opened the door to the kitchen, only to find Toshiro sitting cross-legged on the floor, actually _watching _the washing machine spin -- he insisted that it was because he wanted to make sure it didn't keep stopping, Ichigo just had the feeling that he wanted to take it apart like he did with everything else mechanial that caught his attention.

**39 - Torn**

They stopped, eyes meeting and swords pointed flat out straight; as the roar of the huge Hollow descended upon them, they both moved in perfect time and a moment later three torn pieces disappated into nothing in the black sky.

**40 - History**

Ichigo finally finds him at the back of the historic non-fiction section of the library, surrounded by discarded books and with a particularly large one sitting on his lap, fingers curling to turn the page; he knows that Toshiro knows that he's being watched, but doesn't seem to care.

**41 - Power**

The amount of spiritual power spilling from the 10th division training grounds was immense -- they hadn't even released their zanpakuto, but the power was enough to make most normal shinigami keep clear of the two, eyes alight with the adrenaline rush of battle as their swords crossed over and over again.

**42 - Bother**

Ichigo's already noticed that it takes one hell of a lot of bothering to get Toshiro _seriously _pissed off, and enjoys using his long temper to get what he wants without being left as a bloody pulp.

**43 - God**

Nails rake across his back and he feels his face being pulled forward, a quiet 'oh, god' murmured into his ear and a sharp intake of breath as come slicks over his fingers.

**44 - Wall**

"_All in all you're just another brick in the wall_," Hitsugaya said slowly in English, frowning as his finger traced the script rolling across the page; "What is that supposed to _mean_?" -- Ichigo just sighed and silently made a vow that he was never going to try and teach anybody English ever again (especially with... song lyrics).

**45 - Naked**

Hitsugaya suddenly realised that his natural talent at card games was a very good thing -- particularly when the game is _strip _poker and his opponent happened to be somebody he didn't mind looking at naked (and was very, very bad at poker... and drunk).

**46 - Drive**

There was a long silence for a equally-long moment, both of them staring at the smoking wreck of what was once Ichigo's car; Hitsugaya wondered if it was best to just wait until Kurosaki _didn't _have that murderous look on his face to apologise for kicking the brakes...

**47 - Harm**

They both feel as if they have people they need to protect from harm, and knowing that the other can look after himself is comforting, in a way.

**48 - Precious**

Much to Kurosaki's irritation, he'd ended up calling the kitten 'Ichigo' -- it _was _a ginger tabby, after all -- and took much pleasure in the fact that he could point out that at least he hadn't called it 'Precious'.

**49 - Hunger**

Staring at the dreaded looming pile of tenth division paperwork teetering on his desk, Ichigo decided that he was never going to challenge Toshiro to an eating contest ever again -- what was it with that kid and watermelons?

**50 - Believe**

"I believe in..." Toshiro paused, biting the end of his pen before continuing "... the many facts that lead to the conclusion that Kurosaki is an idiot-- stop glaring at me, it's true."


	3. Delta

**Notes: **Tres! Trois! Three... oh whatever. xD;

**9 (Drink) - **'in vino veritas' ; 'in wine there is truth'.

**12 (End) **- 'Muñequita' ; 'little doll'

**20 (Green) **- referring to 'Anahata', fourth primary chakra.

44/50

**---**

**01 - Air**

There was more than enough air to go around in the human world, so why did he always feel breathless with Kurosaki close to him?

**02 - Apples**

"I was expecting apples or _something_," Kurosaki replied dryly; "I don't taste like anything?" (only of his own reiatsu, Hitsugaya replied, then wondered why they were having a conversation about what the inside of Kurosaki's mouth tasted like).

**03 - Beginnings**

Ichigo only knew him by name and he only knew Ichigo from the reports issued to all divisions -- perhaps, Hitsugaya reflected, it may have stayed like that had he not volunteered to go to the human world?

**04 - Bugs**

"They're _gastropods_," they both corrected irritably; both turned to each other with confused expressions -- Keigo just blinked and decided not to ponder further on the placement of snails on the animal-category-thing (they weren't bugs, apparently).

**05 - Coffee**

Ichigo didn't like coffee all that much and didn't understand Toshiro's liking of it; but he found himself beginning to buy it anyway, much to Toshiro's amusement.

**06 - Dark**

His hands are bleeding from clutching Hyourinmaru so tightly for so long, and his sight is obscured by a dark film of blood trickling from his forehead -- but he can just see Kurosaki out of the corner of his eyes, and he feels as though there is something hopeful left.

**07 - Despair**

Hitsugaya felt his chest constrict, his heart drumming hard, and he was too distracted by the jolt to really take in why; looking up just as Kurosaki turned the corner, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to turn in the other direction (please, please god no).

**08 - Doors**

Ichigo scowled and hammered harder on the door, muttering curses under his breath -- Toshiro was acting way too over-sensitive about this one stupid thing (it was only half past three, it wasn't late at all).

**09 - Drink**

His head's thumping and he can't open his eyes without them burning, but he feels the warm comfort of somebody lying behind him -- one second review of the reiatsu tells him who it is -- fuck, Hitsugaya thinks inarticulately, _in vino veritas _indeed.

**10 - Duty**

Ichigo had ended up looking after Hitsugaya's gigai during his duty of patrolling and filing reports on Karakura to Soul Society; he wasn't really sure why the gigai had such a large affinity for him, but perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing.

**11 - Earth**

They both come back after a long, long time, faces and crumpled robes streaked with earth and grass stains; Matsumoto just chuckles quietly to herself, knowing perfectly well _exactly _whatthey had been doing.

**12 - End**

Nicknames were just something Hitsugaya had learned to tolerate; but when Kurosaki's phase of spouting Spanish came to calling him 'Muñequita' he'd punched him in the face and that had been the end of it.

**13 - Fall**

Falling in love seemed hilariously pathetic, and it was a stupid expression anyway -- but when he realised that there was a reason he thought of Kurosaki all the time, he wanted to know when he'd hit the ground.

**14 - Fire**

Bright and wild (spirited?), perhaps a little more stubborn than was really needed with a fierce loyalty to those he was close to; it was always difficult to describe a human being in one word, Hitsugaya had discovered, but 'fire' worked just fine for Kurosaki.

**15 - Flexible**

Hitsugaya only had one 'party trick', and it was being able to bend his thumb to touch the underside of his wrist -- but when Kurosaki managed to _break _his thumb trying to see if he could do it as well, he decided that he'd just need to find another one.

**16 - Flying**

"It's an oversized piece of metal... it is not going to get off the ground," Toshiro replied stubbornly, apparently not quite grasping Ichigo's careful explanation of jet propulsion.

**17 - Food**

Ichigo just stares blankly at him, and he tilts his head slightly in confoundment as he asks "what?"; it was just... how the hell did Toshiro eat so much in half an hour?

**18 - Foot**

The sound of bare feet padded across the kitchen tiling, and Ichigo turned to see an already completely healthy-looking Toshiro asking where the towels were hidden -- how the hell had he managed that, he had been completely pished out of his face last night...

**19 - Grave**

Toshiro is a strange person, always so reserved and seemingly neutral about everything -- but when Ichigo finds him in the graveyard with a dull, faraway look in his eyes, it all makes sense.

**20 - Green**

"It reminds me of you," Toshiro's hand lay flat on the centre of Ichigo's chest (who wasn't really sure what the point of this was, but as long as it involved touching it worked fine); "Did you know that the air chakra is associated with the colour green?"

**21 - Head**

"Does your head fight by itself or do you enjoy putting it in life-threatening situations?" Toshiro asks, raising an eyebrow at the yet another bandage bound around Kurosaki's temples.

**22 - Hollow**

Zangetsu slices straight through the Hollow and it dissolves into the darkening sky; Ichigo turns, feeling as though he is being watched, and he sees Toshiro turn his head away to face the sunset.

**23 - Honour**

"There's nobody else here to see you losing your honour, so shut the hell up," Ichigo grins and swiftly pins a only half-heartedly protesting Toshiro to the bed.

**24 - Hope**

Hope was a nice-sounding word, but he disliked the feeling it gave him -- so it was easy to go straight up to Kurosaki and kiss him hard on the mouth in a sort of unspoken 'I like you, you moron' speech.

**25 - Light**

The fading rays of sunlight ripple across the water, Toshiro standing ankle-deep and looking so lost in it that Ichigo can't help but to push him in.

**26 - Lost**

"Of course I'd get lost," Hitsugaya grumbled irritably, folding his arms and glaring as Kurosaki tried not to laugh; "this world has too many large buildings and liars..."

**27 - Metal**

The light shimmered and glowed, reflecting light off of the cold metal of their swords, meeting and sending the metallic clang spiralling into the air.

**28 - New**

The most interesting part of relationships was watching the little developments form; Hitsugaya was surprised to find that he felt slightly out of place without Kurosaki in his office irritating the shit out of him.

**29 - Old**

Hitsugaya was, of course, a lot older than Ichigo (sixty-odd years, he found once he bothered to count), but this only served to see just how many more of human society's taboos he could break (you don't have _sexual relations_ with dead people, and so on).

**30 - Peace**

Kurosaki began to turn up in his office more often, Hitsugaya noticed; it seemed like he was doing it for no apparent reason, but even to save the tranquillity of his office he couldn't quite bring himself to throw him out.

**31 - Poison**

"I'm being _poisoned_," Toshiro hisses dramatically, clamping his hands over his ears; Ichigo just laughs and pokes him in the head (is he really that bad at singing?).

**32 - Pretty**

Ichigo found Toshiro amusing to irritate, as he always gained a good reaction: "_pretty _is used as a compliment for girls, and _I _find it insulting,"; the way his face darkened was strangely adorable (which just made Ichigo do it more).

**33 - Rain**

The grass was waterlogged and muddy and icy rain was still plummeting straight through the trees and pounding on bare skin -- but pressed up half-naked against the rough bark of a tree with Kurosaki's fevered hands, mouth, tongue making him squirm, Hitsugaya didn't feel cold at all.

**34 - Regret**

Toshiro sighed and faced the door, his face darkening as he opened it and said "I don't regret it, Kurosaki," and left, the door clicking shut softly behind him.

**35 - Roses**

He had never understood or particularly cared about the supposed meanings in the varying colours of roses -- but when Kurosaki mentions it one day, he demands to be taught.

**36 - Secret**

"Good," Kurosaki paused for a moment before continuing, Hitsugaya surprised at how calm he seemed to be despite the fact that the entire Soul Society knew _everything_; "Keeping secrets annoys the shit out of me."

**37 - Snakes**

"The title is woefully inaccuate, but it's rather amusing," -- it definitely stopped being so amusing once he'd played it six million times and the beeps were going to drive Ichigo completely mental.

**38 - Snow**

Ichigo noticed the glitter in Toshiro's eyes as they walked across the snow-covered pavements and roads -- finally, something that didn't make the squirt try and bite somebody's face off (although he supposed it was a given, given Toshiro's zanpakutuo).

**39 - Solid**

Kurosaki was warm and always reassuringly _there_; Hitsugaya pressed himself closer and found himself inventing excuses for when the human woke up.

**40 - Spring**

Winter melts into spring once more, and he realises one day that he is beginning to speak like Kurosaki does; this disturbs him, but he can't quite stop.

**41 - Stable**

Maybe when life was more stable, they decided, and they shook hands over it.

**42 - Strange**

"I don't care, saying suggestive things like that down the phone is weird and distracting -- I said quit it already -- no, I do not like it really --" he looks up and sees an extremely confused new recruit, and he coughs and puts the phone down.

**43 - Summer**

Spring breezed into the endless warm days of summer, by far Ichigo's favourite season -- but then he had to accommodate the mini-snowball into his vacation, and then...

**44 - Taboo**

Having sex with Kurosaki would almost definitely be seen as taboo -- but to be honest, Hitsugaya decided, it wasn't a _rule _that he was not to have intimate relations with the substitute shinigami...

**45 - Ugly**

"Ah, rather beautiful, I think,"; Yumichika cheerfully swanned off, and both Ichigo and Toshiro blinked after him as they pondered the beauty of rather awkward kissing behind the tenth division's buildings (at least they hadn't been called ugly, they decided eventually).

**46 - War**

As the war raged on, overtaking everything they had once taken for granted, some worried that the substitute shinigami would crack under the pressure; Hitsugaya just remembered the determination shown on Kurosaki's face during the first fight with the Arrancar, and was reassured by the knowledge that they were all wrong.

**47 - Water**

Cool, calm, reposed with an erratic and furious temper -- any of these words would describe Toshiro, but Ichigo decided he liked 'just like water' best.

**48 - Welcome**

Kurosaki bursts into his office, panting and sweating and completely out of breath, and he just glares at him and puts his brush down; "that was _not _an acceptable welcome, Kurosaki, go away and come back in a more civilised manner."

**49 - Winter**

"Winter is much better in the human world," Toshiro explained shortly to Hinamori as she asked him why he was going back again; he turned away, feeling guilty for not telling her the whole truth.

**50 - Wood**

"Why... don't you just stop reading them?" Ichigo asked exasperatedly after Toshiro had set the romance novel on the discarded pile and picked up another one; if he said anything about how smelling like sandalwood would be sort of annoying _once _more...


	4. Alpha

Yes, I am mental. Just one more set to do! They're so addictive, I'll miss them deeply...

**---**

**01 - Comfort**

"I don't care what Kuchiki says, that cupboard does not look even remotely comfortable and _I'm not__sleeping in it_."

**02 - Kiss**

"You only kissed him, captain," Matsumoto replied, slightly exasperated at her captain's stubborn refusal to just go and _talk _to Ichigo; despite her captain's reputation as a child genius, sometimes he could just be so... boyish.

**03 - Soft**

"You are too slow, your sword strikes are weak and you are not concentrating... is there something on your mind, Kurosaki Ichigo?"

**04 - Pain**

"What are you doing, chewing my neck?"

**05 - Potatoes**

Toshiro didn't quite understand the appeal of squashed, fried potatoes but tried them anyway -- which was definitely a mistake in the long run, Ichigo realised after finding the cupboard mysteriously empty more often than not.

**06 - Rain**

"If you're going to be stupid enough to stand out in the rain to prove a point, Kurosaki..." he trails off, looking around suspiciously and sighing lightly before he kisses him, stepping out into the downpour and suddenly realising that he doesn't care who sees.

**07 - Chocolate**

Ichigo was sort of surprised when he discovered that Toshiro preferred dark chocolate (what's it to you?); he was then more than _sort of _annoyed when there was never any left to be found (or eaten, for that matter).

**08 - Happiness**

It was always frustratingly difficult to tell when Toshiro was happy (or at least not mildly irritated) about anything -- but then again, Ichigo had always liked a challenge.

**09 - Telephone**

Toshiro pulls the telephone out of its socket and turns over, pulling the covers back over his head and enjoying the almost-silence of the bedroom (Kurosaki's breathing was thankfully not bordering on snoring this morning).

**10 - Ears**

Toshiro leans back slightly, and Ichigo sees his eyes half-closed and a low purring sound escaping his throat; who knew that the captain's ears were so sensitive?

**11 - Name**

"You just called me... captain Hitsugaya," Toshiro said, his face betraying his surprise, "what day is it?"

**12 - Sensual**

He lets his head fall back and his hands stay frozen in one place -- he finds it hard to believe he's daring to be so vunerable in the presence of another person -- Kurosaki kisses his neck and slides down to drag his tongue slowly across Hitsugaya's collarbone and he finds it hard to believe a lot of things.

**13 - Death**

"You can't have feelings for me, I'm dead (_and you are clearly insane_)."

**14 - Sex**

Rolling around half-naked on the floor is not solving the problem, so instead they sit and stare each other down -- because really, who the fuck _is _on top?

**15 - Touch**

"Don't touch me, human, I don't know where you've been," Toshiro sighed, the hint of a smirk playing around his lips; Ichigo wondered if he should laugh or not.

**16 - Weakness**

"I'm not supposed to be weak," and they sit in silence beside each other, listening to everything the other will never say.

**17 - Tears**

"What is the point in tearing holes in them...?" Hitsugaya complained, looking disdainfully at the twelfth pair of jeans he'd tried on and disliked; Ichigo sighed heavily and made a note to never get made to go with the grumpiest git in the Gotei-13 out _clothes shopping _ever again(but Kurosaki-kun, it makes much more sense if you go with Toshiro-kun because you're both boys...!).

**18 - Speed**

"Hurry up, Kurosaki," Toshiro shouts before he disappears in a blur again; Ichigo growls and only speeds faster through the air, determined to catch that little bastard.

**19 - Wind**

Bitter winter wind whips across his cheeks, his feet are numb and he almost can't remember why he's even running, butas he and Kurosaki run in sync he decides that this is the best he's felt in a while.

**20 - Freedom**

It was almost interesting -- not quite, but almost -- how his emotions got in the way of everything he did or said in front of the substitute shinigami.

**21 - Life**

Ichigo wondered privately if Toshiro had ever been alive (wasn't he too... little for that?) but decided it was best not to ask.

**22 - Jealousy**

Sometimes Hitsugaya felt a little envious of Kurosaki; the substitute shinigami was so powerful that it was almost frightening, but he was still free to be himself in the human world... free to live on a path long since blocked to Hitsugaya.

**23 - Hands**

Toshiro's hands were just like the rest of him -- small and holding a surprising amount of strength; Ichigo stemmed the blood flow from his nose and decided that he'd actually dodge the punches next time.

**24 - Taste**

"... You taste like human and your own reiatsu, how incredibly interesting."

**25 - Devotion**

Matsumoto stared at the door for a moment, wondering if her captain had just left his paperwork _willingly _(whatever for was something she'd definitely have to find out).

**26 - Forever**

Pressing his back against the door, Hitsugaya knew he couldn't keep locking himself in his office away from his fanclub (who were becoming increasingly scarier by the day) forever, but somehow turning around and admitting that he actually preferred Kurosaki as a potential partner, go away didn't seem like a very good idea.

**27 - Blood**

His heart thunders in his chest and adrenaline flutters through his veins as he raises Tensa Zangetsu to strike again; a gleam of red-tinted ice -- the roar of the released dragon sounds behind him and a smirk flickers across his face before he brings his sword forward and into the heat of battle.

**28 - Sickness**

He is definitely going to vomit after this, but he's going to win, inebriated ornot -- he downs another shot (a knight) and flinches as the alcohol burns his throat, closing his eyes and pushing the rook forward.

**29 - Melody**

"You play the piano?"; Toshiro just shrugs and continues playing, the melody echoing around the room and Ichigo wonders just how many things this kid can do.

**30 - Star**

Hitsugaya lies flat on his back and stares up at the stars from the roof of the Kurosaki Clinic; Kurosaki Ichigo's massive reiatsu electrofies the atmosphere and the Gotei-13 captain feels a tingle running up his spine.

**31 - Home**

Ichigo wonders if Toshiro ever actually goes home; he's found him sleeping in the office (face on the desk) at least a million times.

**32 - Confusion**

How was he supposed to act on... whatever the feeling was if he couldn't even describe it to himself?

**33 - Fear**

"Are you scared, little boy?" The piercing cackle echoes in Hitsugaya's ears and he grits his teeth; he can't hurt Kurosaki (is it really Kurosaki?) but he has to -- metal meets in a heavy clang and he realises there's no other choice.

**34 - Lightning/Thunder**

"I told you I liked thunderstorms... you should see these things coming," Hitsugaya hissed, pressing his lips back against Ichigo's as he rolled back on top, the roaring of thunder becoming a distant noise in the background as Ichigo found his already-soaked jeans tugged down to his knees and rough hands sliding across his hips.

**35 - Bonds**

"No, I'm quite aware of _how_; I'm more interested in _why _my hands are tied to the bedpost, Kurosaki."

**36 - Market**

Ichigo mentally smacks his forehead at the much-longer-than-usual shopping list -- he is never sticking it to the fridge ever again (how much did this guy eat...?).

**37 - Technology**

Toshiro looks at the airplane for a moment, then turns to Ichigo and says "you think that this oversized lump of metal can actually fly, and you're calling _me_ an idiot?"

**38 - Gift**

And therein lies the problem, Ichigo thought irritably; what the hell _do _you get for a Gotei-13 captain, particularly a grumpy little shit with a height complex?

**39 - Smile**

"Ah, what has Ichigo-kun done to my terribly serious captain?"

**40 - Innocence**

Neither of them could be described as innocent, not anymore; but the awkward kisses and hesitant, inexperienced touches give away more than they'd like to think.

**41 - Completion**

Hitsugaya finishes the division's duties earlier than usual (Matsumoto had turned her paperwork in on time!), and he finds himself wishing for someone to come and bother him or demand a spar -- anything.

**42 - Clouds**

A puff of frozen breath spiralled up into the air, and Ichigo watched it with a frown -- surely it shouldn't be _that_ cold, even in the ice rink; a shock of white hair passed by him and he rolled his eyes (of course...).

**43 - Sky**

Hitsugaya has never liked the sky; he has always associated it with Hollows -- and so he's almost surprised at the beauty of sunsets in the human world (not that he's there for any reason unrelated to work, of course).

**44 - Heaven**

If Toshiro came from 'heaven', then there was something seriouslyfucked up in this equation, Ichigo thought in a clouded mix of annoyance and lack-of-sleep, kicking the snoring boynext to him for the sixteenthtime in fifteen minutes.

**45 - Hell **

Ichigo stifles hysterical laughter as his father shouts something unintelligible about accepting young Shiro-chan into the family -- Toshiro's expression as he is hugged is roughly equatable to _I'm in some sort of twisted form of hell where people are being affectionate make them stop_...

**46 - Sun**

Ichigo paused, then rethought his sentence; "nah, the sun doesn't shine out of your arse, you've already got that stick up there -- I can see you narrowing your eyes there, y'know..."

**47 - Moon**

"Hmm, an oversized satellite floating around outside the sky because of Earth's gravitational pull... I don't understand what is so romantic about it," Toshiro replied, immediately killing any sort of mood the moment had had.

**48 - Waves**

Ichigo pushes him forward and Toshiro is half-dragged into the sea spray by overexcited small children; he can hear Rangiku-san's half-restrained giggling behind him and a broad grin crosses his face (hey, any way to annoy captain Snowball was welcomed).

**49 - Hair**

Hitsugaya was becoming increasingly irritated and confused by the amount of times he was being asked if Kurosaki was 'that colour' all over by his (incredibly and enviably brave) new recruits (because what exactly did it matter anyway?).

**50 - Supernova**

"-- I don't fucking care if you're seeing fucking supernovas or whatever, quit punching me in the eye every single goddamn time!" (Hitsugaya rolled his eyes and asked why Kurosaki didn't just move his head if he saw it coming so often.)


	5. Beta

No, I can't write anything except slapstick.

I finished all of the sets! I feel so accomplished... except I didn't claim most of them due to my lame procrastination skills making me feel bad. :P Surprisingly 37 - Soliloquy is the only sentence that hasn't changed since I wrote the drafts of all of them.

(aw bugger I need to post this on LJ, too. I'll do it tomorrow night, I'm going to bed.)

* * *

**01 - Walking**

He's a dead man walking and everyone in Soul Society knows it, so why does Kurosaki still insist on finding him?

**02 - Waltz**

Although both were skilled in the graceful waltz of battle, this other not quite literal meaning of 'waltz' was apparently a harder thing to grasp ("you're crushing my ribs --" "oh, sorry... --" "you're _still _doing it!").

**03 - Wishes**

Hitsugaya scowls and fidgets uncomfortably, wishing that he'd just gone without the stupid tie and not asked how on earth you were supposed to wear the stupid thing (this place was full of lunatics apparently hell-bent on creating useless and needlessly complicated items of clothing); he shivers involuntarily as Kurosaki's fingers brush his skin and he digs his nails into his palm, hating that he doesn't entirely loathe the attention.

**04 - Wonder**

His world is black but he can still see (he wants to know if this is different); the gentle pulse under smooth skin, the soft sound of Kurosaki's breathing as Hitsugaya's fingers slide down his chest and over long scars -- he leans closer and wonders just how accurate a picture he can get using the rest of his senses.

**05 - Worry**

"As long as your father doesn't try to suffocate me again, you've got nothing to worry about," Toshiro replies with a raised eyebrow; Ichigo just sighs and wishes he didn't like this unaffectionate midget quite so much (stupid dad and his stupid family policies).

**06 - Whimsy**

"We're not talking about it," was Toshiro's only reaction to the extremely confused look Ichigo gave him, then to the tiny brown puppy cheerfully bounding around the living room.

**07 - Waste/Wasteland**

The once-battlefield is a barren wasteland of sand and blood and cold; they are surrounded by fake peace and its eerie silence, but neither break it, watching red stain their swords and clothes as the pastel sun begins to rise.

**08 - Whisky and Rum**

The bitter taste of spirits slid against his tongue but he only kissed him harder, hands flat against the wall and one question clear in his drunken thoughts -- whisky or rum, whisky or rum?

**09 - War**

"Go sulk somewhere else," Hitsugaya mutters, not wanting to give up his personal anger-management spot -- Kurosaki can go fucking huff about the stupid argument somewhere other than the roof.

**10 - Weddings**

Weddings are an extremely rare celebration in Seireitei, and he supposes that observing one in the human world is rather interesting, but -- "why did you ask me to come with you, Kurosaki?"

**11 - Birthday**

"Oh, taichou's just trying to escape the birthday games," Matsumoto replies cheerfully to Ichigo's query, pouring more sake out for the already drunk guests; she smiles as the orange-haired boy nods and turns to leave; "drag him back if you have to, Ichigo-kun!"

**12 - Blessing**

"The Kurosaki family name is deaaaaad!--" "-- shut the hell up, old man!--" "-- there will be no grandchildren with my beautiful family name... woe is me--" "-- what the hell did I just say?!--"-- I wish you'd all stop shouting..."

**13 - Bias**

"Since when did I give a shit about-- no, you sadistic fuckface!" Ichigo hollered at his Hollow form, currently in throes of blood-curdling cackling at his rider's anger; Zangetsu merely sighed and tried not to intervene, as he personally did not care what his wielder's sexual preferences were and felt that the other two were insufferable idiots.

**14 - Burning**

The choking taste of smoke fills Hitsugaya's mouth and nose, the bright licks of fire visible from the windows flickering across his light blue eyes -- he hesitates for only a moment before plunging forward (shinigami fear nothing) but he rages inwardly, because he knows that Kurosaki noticed and that he is going to be hounded relentlessly later (shingami are also extremely nosy).

**15 - Breathing**

"... Stop breathing in my face," he half-whispers, feeling too warm and too cold all at once; wondering why he was still standing on the stepladder (damned cupboards), asking himself why he was kissing Kurosaki (he might stop blowing air in his face), and wanting to know why he wasn't being pushed away (he has no answer for this).

**16 - Breaking**

Ichigo walked into the kitchen and was extremely surprised to find Toshiro with his eyes red, watery and tears streaming down his face; a split second later he noticed the strong smell of onions and was entirely unsurprised at the 'say anything and I'll break your face' glare he received (the sniffing and furious eye-rubbing made it more comical than threatening but he tried his best not to laugh).

**17 - Belief**

If he kept denying it he would be acting like a hormonal teenager; as such he simply decided to faithfully ignore the apparent object of his affections, because that obviously made much more sense.

**18 - Balloon**

He just sighs in reply and points skywards at the red balloon floating away into the clouds; too bad there wasn't any glass in the windowpane, he thought afterwards with a headache and a cackling Kurosaki behind him ("I can't believe you actually smacked your face off of the other window... dumbass!").

**19 - Balcony**

"There is a balcony, you know," Ichigo points out, leaning on the metal fence and looking over at the white-haired taichou with a curious expression; "what's it with you and the roof?"

**20 - Bane**

"If Kurosaki-san annoys you so much, Shi-- Hitsugaya-kun," Hinamori quickly corrects herself before asking; "... then why do you let him hang around in your office so much?"

**21 - Quiet**

The backs of their hands brush together and he's not entirely sure who caught whose hand first; the dimly-lit street is quiet but his heart is thundering and for what seems the first time in his life, he's not sure what he should do about it.

**22 - Quirks**

"Drummers do it with rhythm?" Ichigo shrugged, a smirk creeping onto his face as he continued his inane tapping; Hitsugaya growled under his breath and resisted the urge to pull Kurosaki's brains out through his nose.

**23 - Question **companion piece to 33 - Stupidity

Ichigo had never really understood why souls still breathed, wondering if they just inhaled spirit particles because it was more fun that way; no matter how many times he watched Toshiro's chest rising and falling it never became easier to repress the question on the tip of his tongue ("hey why are you still breathing?" seemed a little rude).

**24 - Quarrel**

Well, at least there was never the argument about leaving the toilet seat up.

**25 - Quitting**

Ichigo Kurosaki doesn't quit for anything or anyone; Hitsugaya quickly learns this and eventually gives up on convincing him about anything.

**26 - Jump**

"... The 'A' button is broken," Toshiro explained shortly, scowling and keeping his gaze trained to the window; Ichigo raised an eyebrow and loudly wondered _why_ this was a legitimate reason to smash a hole through the wall with a handheld console ("if you can think of a more frustrating way to lose at a stupid children's game...").

**27 - Jester**

"... What do I have to do if I have a joker?" Toshiro holds up the card enquiringly; Ichigo raises an eyebrow and is promptly told that no, stripping is not an option, you stupid pervert (Ichigo rolls his eyes and tells him he's extremely offended by his distrust).

**28 - Jousting**

Deprived of his daily verbal jousting matches, Ichigo decides to find out what exactly it is that captains do when not doing paperwork -- he doesn't remember exactly what it was but he does know that for some reason it's starting to piss him off when Toshiro isn't paying attention to him.

**29 - Jewel**

Yeah, like using jewellery was going to help with anything.

**30 - Just**

"It's just _what_?" Kurosaki asks impatiently, and Hitsugaya can't think of the right word; _wrong dirty stupid _and other such negative descriptions come to mind, but instead he says nothing, because it's easier to pretend that way.

**31 - Smirk**

"... it's nothing, honestly, it's just... don't Kurosaki-san and Hitsugaya-taichou smirk a lot at exactly the same time and they kinda look similar and it's _really really _creepy?"

**32 - Sorrow**

He doesn't grow much taller, but you can see the sharper outlines of an adult in his face, now; Matsumoto notices the amount of pretty young giggly girls in the line of recruits and smiles -- oh, the sorrow they have yet to discover!

**33 - Stupidity **companion piece to 23 - Question

He feels the gentle pulse underneath his fingers, a living breathing human so delicately alive and attached to this world; he wants to ask _what is it like to be alive _but it's a stupid question with no real answer, so he stays silent.

**34 - Serenade**

A blade will sing to its wielder in battle, hum in peace; it is maddeningly obvious when you can hear someone else's and he wonders what the hell does it mean?

**35 - Sarcasm**

Hitsugaya rolls over and looks at Kurosaki, watching him stare up at the ceiling; he wants to say something, make a stupid sarcastic remark to break the silence because why the fuck is this so awkward?

**36 - Sordid**

"I draw the line at my office," Toshiro repeated, folding his arms and scowling up at him in what Ichigo could only describe as abstract disgust; "you don't fuck around with my paperwork, and -- no I do not mean it literally... you know what I meant, you insufferable moron!"

**37 - Soliloquy**

This isn't a human-world play; he doesn't need to use soliloquies to explain the matters in his head to anyone because he has nobody to explain to and no reason to voice it (it would never come to anything, anyway, his logical side tells him).

**38 - Sojourn**

October was June a short time ago, when he wasn't having disturbing dreams and badly-timed mental pictures about the human he spends the majority of his time here around.

**39 - Share**

It was little things they had in common with each other; for example, snoring extremely loudly and then denying it when the other brought it up (Orihime, finding it funny, asked them "but how would you know if you snored or not?" and was rewarded by two blank stares).

**40 - Solitary**

Toshiro usually slept with his back to Ichigo, so it was surprising when Ichigo woke up to find the other curled against his chest with his face buried in the curve of his neck; Toshiro was likely going to deny everything when he woke up ('I wasn't cold, you thickheaded...'), so Ichigo wonders what 'excuse' would end in the longest -- and most amusing -- argument.

**41 - Nowhere**

Ichigo eventually gives up on deciphering Toshiro's terrible handwriting (how did anybody ever read his reports?) and attempts to call him instead; he then remembers that he never keeps his phone switched on for some ridiculous reason so he tosses his own to the floor, pressing his forehead against the table and sighing in exasperation (fine, he can keep the stupid jacket for all he cares stupid unreachable git).

**42 - Neutral**

He wasn't supposed to care about an individual human's well-being, he was supposed to be indifferent -- but somehow it doesn't seem to be working.

**43 - Nuance**

Ichigo felt Toshiro stiffen immediately at the finger trailing lazily down his spine, his head bent and loose spikes of hair covering his face; Toshiro never made a sound, but the slightest arch into his hand made Ichigo smile.

**44 - Near**

"... It's not like I live next door, Kurosaki," Hitsugaya reminded him for what seemed like the thousandth time, not entirely sure he wanted to know what was making the other boy so completely sure this was going to work.

**45 - Natural**

"Is it really naturally that colour?" Ichigo asks once, receiving a glower in return and "would you be offended if I asked you the same question?"; the answer is yes but pfft, white is weirder than orange any day.

**46 - Horizon**

"Trust you to die at such a symbolic moment, Kurosaki," Hitsugaya commented wryly, receiving only a shaky grin for his sharp observances; the soft warm shades of a sunrise streaked the sky and the two fully-fledged shinigami watched the sun rise to begin its well-worn journey.

**47 - Valiant**

He knows he has to stay in Seireitei, stay with his division and prepare; but it's so infuriating feeling as though he's doing nothing while Kurosaki and company are trying so valiantly to rescue their friend.

**48 - Virtuous**

"You think I've done this before?" Toshiro hisses into his ear, cool hands sliding up under his t-shirt and maddeningly trailing across the curve of his hip-bones; "it's sex, not quantum physics."

**49 - Victory**

"We won, you know," Ichigo says to the silent room, not looking at the comatose taichou and instead fixing his gaze on the wall; "and I kind of wish you'd just fucking wake up so you can get all pissy about everyone getting drunk when there's still paperwork to do..." he trails off with the tiniest hint of a smile on his lips.

**50 - Defeat**

"Eh, I wouldn't, Hitsugaya-taichou and Kurosaki-san are training in that room and--" his helpful advice was cheerfully ignored and the seventeenth seat of the tenth division wonders why he has no authority whatsoever; taichou throws him the most fleeting glare and he squeaks and shuffles away.


End file.
